Buy A Truck, Get A Free AK-47

By Ben PopkenNovember 15, 2010

A used truck dealer in Florida, birthplace of dreams, is offering an interesting promotion. Buy a truck and get an assault rifle thrown in the back for free.

Buyers have to pass a background check first. The $400 voucher can be used towards a different kind of gun if they want, or they can get it as cash-back. The dealership says that business has more than doubled since the promo went into effect on Veteran’s Day.

The owner told the AP, “My buyer is absolutely a gun owner, no question.”

Little did you know that most weapons used in crimes (and not, say, impulsive acts of passion) are stolen or unregistered.
Anyone looking to commit a crime isn’t going to use a gun that can be traced, so they acquire them through ILLEGAL, not legal means.

A dealership has been doing this around here (Southern Indiana) for many years. They generally have a bizarre Valentine’s Day promotion where if you buy a vehicle you get a bouquet of roses and/or a shotgun.

Is an assault rifle a fully automatic, or 3-shot burst rifle? Or is it a semiautomatic (1 trigger pull per bullet) rifle that “looks dangerous”?

With that said – this is a hack marketing ploy. A proper AK worth owning costs well over $1000 (used, passible condition), and I don’t think this guy is giving those away. Although he might know his market very well and this might be good for his business. I’m torn on that thought.

Unless the buyer possesses what I believe is titled an FFL license, its only semiautomatic. Selling automatic weapons (and I also believe 3 shot burst weapons) is not legal to ordinary Joe’s.

That being said, the definition of assault weapon is very different from place to place. In California, that title is also given to regular .22 rifles that, while legal, are hardly the weapons of someone hell bent on assault with a deadly weapon. Unless you hit someone just right, a .22 does not have a high mortality rate against humans.

You do not need an Federal Firearms License (FFL) to own Title 2 weaponry (full auto, short barrel, destructive device or sound suppressor). There are several different types of FFLs applicable to the import, manufacture, and dealing in firearms, ammunition and explosives but there are none required simply for owning weaponry.

What you have to do is submit application for transfer (BATFE Form 4) signed by your local chief law enforcement officer plus fingerprint cards along with a check or money order covering the $200 transfer tax to BATFE. They then perform a background check lasting anywhere from 60-90 days.

At the end of that process, if you are not found to be a criminal or otherwise ineligible to own/possess a firearm, and there are no state/local prohibitions, they cash your check, issue you the transfer tax stamp and you can actually buy the weapon.

For sure. All though to be fair, the whole system of firearms law and regulation is so god awful complex, its hard for anybody to navigate. The whole system is basically designed for “gotcha” interpretations of the law/regulations that make it exceedingly hard to own Title 2 weaponry without violating the law, especially when you throw state law into the mix.

As an example, up until the first of the year, it was illegal to own/possess an SBR or SBS in the state of AL. The exception was if it was a full auto weapon since the legal definition of “machine gun” supersedes that of “short barrel rifle.”

In other words, a 10″ barrel semi-auto rifle was 100% illegal but a 10″ barrel full-auto rifle was A-OK. Made no sense at all…

Kinda like how it is legal to own suppressors in Washington state, but the “use” of them is illegal. I remember reading about the AL SBR/SBS mess and a couple of people over at TFL had a letter posted he sent to his state rep. Glad to hear that it got passed.

Fully automatic and 3-round burst rifles are very strictly controlled, and a special license is needed to own these. The one pictured is a semi-automatic, firing one bullet for one trigger pull. This rifle doesn’t “look dangerous” any more than any other firearm. As far as the cost, $400 is not unreasonable for an AK in good working condition.

Before everyone starts freaking out, these guns WILL NOT be fully-automatic. It’s illegal to buy a fully-automatic weapon in the US unless you have a special permit, which is tens of thousands of dollars. I’m not sure about the laws regarding selling them, but I’m sure they’re just as stringent. Although to be fair, these are AK-47s and are probably pretty easy to modify.

Automatic weapons may be purchased after completing a number of regulatory requirements and the payment of a $200 transfer tax. Local licensing requirements may also apply, but at the federal level there is no special permit costing “tens of thousands of dollars.”

No, the permit to own them is quit cheap in the form of a $200 tax stamp, however the guns themselves are quite expensive, generally being in the range of $4k for something crappy like a MAC-10 to 10K for a rifle like an AK47 or HK G3 to 30k for things like M60s

It’s a $200 Tax stamp. It’s not the stamp that is expensive it’s the Title II gun itself that is. In 1986 the select fire NFA registry was frozen. Supply and demand took over and now something like a M11/9 that could be had for $300 24 years ago sells for $3000. Registered AK’s currently go for around 12-14k depending on the receiver manufacture.

As for ease of conversion of one of these, ease is relative, if you have a machine shop and the knowledge, skill and tools it would be a snap! It’s not, bolt on “X” and you have a full-auto firearm like TV and the movies would lead you to believe. The ATF or more correctly BAFTE has makes sure that firearms that are put on sale are not easily convertible into machine-guns.

My friend told me that the way to change an AK-47 to full auto was just removing a single screw from the stock. The problem is that you burn through a clip in a second which is a fast way to basically disarm yourself. He made the mistake for firing it at the range while cops were there, but saved himself by claiming it was a ‘bad load’.

1. It’s a $400 voucher to a local gun shop, not an actual gun.
2. This has been done before, many many times.
3. The guns than could be bought with this voucher aren’t “assault rifles” they are semi-automatic sporting rifles that look like AK-47’s. They are in no way select fire weapons, a requirement to be considered an assault rifle.

I’m not sure about the civilian versions, as I’ve only fired the M16 while in the military, and in ROTC. The military versions I used, did not have collapsable stocks and if used for gun butting they would certainly do the job.

I have never fired an AK 47, but from what Ive read, the M16 has a higher velocity bullet and is more accurate. And, of course.. M16 is American, so I am a little biased. :)

On my various deployments… There were a lot more foreign troops with AK-74’s than AK-47’s. They fired 5.45×39, which feels a lot like the standard NATO 5.56. I’m not sure the nomenclature but if I recall, the Ukranians and Polish had AK’s chambered in 5.56.

I’ve heard it described that the M16 is a good example of an over-engineered American weapon. The AK is better for “drop in the mud, out in the boonies, fire a couple of rounds in the general direction of the enemy” combat. The M16 is better for distance and accuracy, but those aren’t necessarily what the average soldier needs. The M16 has some very small parts which can mean the loss of one can put it out of action. The AK was designed to be very simple that even a child soldier could use it.

I have had plenty of M16 jams in my day, but usually I was using a communal weapon rather than one that was mine to maintain.

The M-4 is nice for urban terrain and when dismounting/mounting Bradleys (I was mech) and was easier to fire off the top of a 113. OTH, the added length to an M-16 was definitely preferable for crowd control when you had to hit people with your barrel or block them getting too close.

i ran Prvi .223 through mine and it jammed on every other round. HIGHLY disappointed in that particular brand. haven’t had a chance to get back out to the range with the other stuff i’ve picked up, but i’m really hoping i get something the rifle liked.

hmm…good to know i’m on the right track with the ammo. if i get the same issue with all the other stuff i bought (and i have a good mix of like 6 different brands, both .223 and 5.56 [for which the rifle is rated]), then i’ll contact a smith.

OT: You guys may know. I have an acquaintance that has a few M1A1 Thompson machineguns in mint condition but doesn’t know how to bring them back to their motherland legally. Any suggestions? (of course I wouldn’t mind having one)

I would hate to be the gun deal who has to explain the idiot who bought the truck just for the gun that; “The offer is merely a $400.00 voucher toward the purchase of any gun and not a guarantee of a genuine AK-47″

Also, if this guy is trying to get “patriots” to buy guns to exercise their ‘merican rights to kill others, they might want to study their history:The AK-47 was developed by Kalishnikov and distributed to communist friendly countries, such as North Vietnam. We used M-16’s.

“Yes folks, the same gun that killed our sons and daughters in ‘Nam, can now be yours to go after godless liberals and black presidents. Just buy our trucks!”

I agree – as a Nam vet with a Massachusetts Class A License, the memory of fellow GIs getting wounded and killed by this weapon in SOUTH Vietnam makes me wonder what goes through the heads of people like this used truck dealer. Idiot.

Why an AK-47, of all weapons? Why not an M4, a benelli shotgun, just a nice CZ 75b? I guess if you’re thinking about zombie apocolypse, they’re a good choice (a little heavy, but reliable as all get out).

Its just a gun….society is so afraid of them! Its most likely a semi-auto meaning it will fire one round as fast as you can pull the trigger. Remember its the person holding the gun thats dangerous not the gun. Guns that are usually used in a crime are usually stolen or gotten illegally.

Hmmmmnnn, I’m a small business looking to get some hella-advertising. What can I do to guarantee that my company and business gets insane global coverage, and I don’t have to spend a damn dime? Gee, I wonder……

If it’s the $400 version it is most certainly NOT an assault rifle. By definition an assault rifle is select-fire. Good luck finding a select fire weapon for under $3k, and you are moving up the $10k range when you look at rifles.

I am so tired of the fear mongering associated with guns that have pistol grips. Just because it has a pistol grip does not make it an assault rifle.

Odds are, it will have a US made receiver. The receivers are typically destroyed prior to being imported and then all of the parts are attached to a cheap US made one.

But that’s besides the point… Many of our Allies carry AK derivatives alongside our own troops. The most fun I ever had in the Army was during our various “weapon swaps” where we got to shoot other troop’s weapons and they shot ours. Our allies have some very cool equipment.

This is straight up false advertising. The dealer is not giving away AK-47s, he’s giving away $400 vouchers to a gun shop. This is like a bank saying that you get a free XBox 360 when you open a new checking account and then handing you a $15 gift card to Best Buy.

Nothing new here, Ben. That dealership has been making headlines for years. I think they started doing this shortly after 9/11 because I’ve been hearing about this for years and years…. And I’m about as far from Florida as you can get, so if it is news out here, then surely it has made it everywhere else too.

Haha I know so many people who have these guns..my dad, my cousin, several friends. They say they’re all set if war ever breaks out in America..they’re no longer scared of anything. Yes, they’re all slightly “redneck” people, but ya gotta love your family.